Wanting to increase your flexibility is a wonderful goal to have. However, it does take time to see noticeable improvements, which can feel frustrating! It’s important to be patient and understanding with our bodies. Afterall, we can’t undo months or years (maybe even decades!) of tightness after a few stretches.
I’ve got a routine to get you started, but first, here are three tips that can help you stay on track!
1. Focus on the Immediate Feeling
One of the best ways to stay motivated is to pay attention to how you feel right after you stretch. While increasing flexibility and range of motion takes time, you will often feel less tension in the area you were stretching immediately after.
Test it out with this neck stretch:
- Tilt your head to the left, bringing your left ear towards your shoulder.
- Relaxing your neck, use your left hand to apply light pressure, deepening the stretch down the right side of your neck.
- Hold for 30-60 seconds.
- Release and bring your head back to an upright position.
✨Notice and compare how the right side of your neck feels compared to the left (Pretty good right?!).✨
This reaffirms that even if you aren’t seeing major progress immediately, your effort IS making a difference. Now repeat this stretch on the other side.
Slowing down to stretch has mental benefits as well, such as feeling calmer and a sense of accomplishment for sticking to your routine!
Hold on to all of these feelings—they will help you stay consistent.
2. Remember That Improvement Isn’t Linear
Some days you’ll feel more open and flexible, while other days you might feel stiff and tight. This is completely normal! Your flexibility can be influenced by things like sleep, stress, hydration, and recent activity.
For example, while I can usually touch my toes, there are days when I can’t—at least not without several minutes of stretching. This usually happens the day after a long hike or bike ride, when my muscles are tighter than usual. Times like these just mean your body just needs a little extra time to loosen up.
Morning Stiffness
You may also notice feeling quite stiff in the morning, which is totally understandable. You’ve been lying motionless for hours! This is a good time to do some gentle movement, giving your body time to loosen up, rather than jumping into a holding stretch.
Small Improvements Add Up
It’s also easy to overlook the progress you’ve made because improvements happen gradually. You may not notice day-to-day changes, but over time, those small improvements add up. Taking note of how your body feels now compared to a month ago can be a great reminder that you are making progress, even if it doesn’t always feel that way.
3. Don’t Overwhelm Yourself—Build a Routine Gradually
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when starting out is doing too much too soon. Diving into an intense stretching routine is a sure fire way to end up feeling overwhelmed and stop altogether.
Consider changing your mindset from achieving a specific goal, such as being able to touch your toes, to creating a lifelong habit. After all, even if you do eventually get to the point where you can touch your toes, that doesn’t mean you can pack it in, never to stretch again! If you do, you will lose what you’ve worked so hard for!
Consistency is key!
Find a routine and frequency that is manageable for you. For example, while starting out by stretching for 5 minutes once a week may not have a major impact on increasing your flexibility, if you make it a regular part of your life, you can then add on when you are ready. It’s much better to have a simple routine you stick with than an intense one you abandon after a week.
Increase Your Flexibility Starters Routine
Can you touch your toes? Since this is a frequent area of concern of people who want to improve their flexibility, I’ve put together a simple routine that can help. This can be the first step at making stretching a habit. Even if you can touch your toes, this is still a great stretch to incorporate into your routine.
Step 1: Roll Downs
Start with gentle movement, rolling down to reach towards the floor. You’ll be gently stretching your hamstrings, glutes and lower back—all of which can restrict your ability to touch your toes when they are tight.
Important Tips:
- Roll down one step at a time: chin to chest, shoulders roll forward, round forward through the spine, and finally hinge forward from the hips. Then reverse the direction.
- Only reach down to a level where you feel a gentle pulling sensation along the back side of your body, you shouldn’t feel sharp pain.
- Move slow and with control. Don’t force yourself to go deeper with momentum, as this can extend your muscles further than they’re ready for.
- You can try matching your breath with your movement: a slow exhale as you lower down, and a slow inhale as you lift back up to standing.
Repeat 3-5 times.
Step 2: Hamstring Stretch
You will hold this forward fold to stretch the same areas as the roll downs, especially the hamstrings. Holding allows you to relax and sink deeper into your stretch, and by focusing on one leg at a time you can better find the right level, as it’s common for one leg to be tighter than the other.
Important tips:
- Elevate one leg (choose the option above that suits you best) and relax the foot and ankle completely
- Hinge forward from the hips (imagine you’re bringing your belly button towards your thigh)
- Then grab your leg and let your spine round as you sink your upper body forward
- Try to relax your leg as much as possible as you hold the stretch
- As your body starts to relax, if you feel comfortable doing so, you can try pulling your upper body down a little deeper over your leg (you should not feel sharp pain)
Hold for 30-60 seconds, then repeat on the other side.
Step 3: Calf Stretch
This is the same as the previous stretch, but this time you’ll use a strap (or something similar) to pull the foot into a flexed position.
Important Tips:
- Your foot and ankle will still be relaxed as they were for the previous stretch. You’ll be using the strap to keep the foot in a flexed position
- Hinge forward from the hips (imagine you’re bringing your belly button towards your thigh)
- Try to relax your leg as much as possible as you hold the stretch
- As your body starts to relax, if you feel comfortable doing so, you can try pulling your upper body down a little deeper over your leg (you should not feel sharp pain)
Hold for 30-60 seconds, then repeat on the other side.
Step 4: Hip and Glute Stretch with Twist
This is a figure four stretch and it opens the hip and glute of the crossed leg. Adding the twist in the direction of the leg you are stretching deepens this stretch.
Below is a demonstration of the steps to come into the stretch:
Important Tips:
- You can flex the foot of your crossed leg to protect your knee
- Keep a flat back and hinge forward from the hips until you start to feel a stretch in the hip and glute of your crossed leg
- Then use your hand on your crossed thigh to press against it and twist in that direction
Hold 30-60 seconds, then switch sides
How to Get the Most Out of This Routine
Since tightness in one area can limit the amount of stretch you can achieve in another, for the most benefit, it’s best to go through steps 1-4, and then repeat step 3, then step 2, and finish with 1. See how different the roll downs feel again at the end!
Improving flexibility doesn’t have to be frustrating. By focusing on how good stretching feels in the moment, accepting that you’ll have some ups and downs and finding a routine that works for you, you’ll be able to make stretching a regular part of your life! Keep at it, and your flexibility is sure to improve!
